Railway signaling system.



R. M. LEWIS.

RAILWAY SIGNALING SYSTEM APPLICATION mm NOV. 4. 1913.

1 ,2]. 0,81 6. Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

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FIGO3 WITNESSES INVENTOR REED M.LEW/5,

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REED M. LEWIS, or ALIQUIPPA, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY SIGNALING sYsTriivr.

Specification'of Letters Patent.

' Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

Application filed November 1, 1913. Serial No. 799,143.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that-"I, REED! M. Lewis, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Aliquippa, in the county of Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, have discovered or invented a new and useful Improvement in Railway Signaling Systems, of which improvement the following is a specification.

Myinvention relatestoasystern for operating signals disposed at predetermined intervals along a railway, forming blocks or sections, to'indicate the presence, or not, as the case may be, to those in charge of a carer train of cars following the same, whether or not a car or train of cars occupies the preceding block.

The invention has for its object to provide a signal system wherein each block or section involves the Wheatstone bridge principle, the car or cars entering and passing through a block servingto disturb the balance and cause a signal to be displayed indicating occupancy of that particular block and immediately after passing out of said block cause the balance to be restored and the signal to indicate that said block is clear or unoccupied.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, I have illustrated an application of my invention to a railway system, in which dr'awings Figure l is adiagrammatic view of said system and railway to which it is applied. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the electric equipment of the car. Fig. 3 is a modification of the block terminal connections.

As shown in Fig. 1, a simplified system of railway is employed for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the application of my improved signal system thereto, in which railway system the numeral 1 indicates the generator, the overhead trolley-wire :2 serving as the outgoing current conduotorand the track rails 3 as the return current conductor'ofthe circuit, a car 4, provided with a trolley pole 4; being also shown in connection with said system.

In applying my improvement-to the above described railway system, I space ofl the trolley wire 2 thereof into the desired number and lengths of blocks, of which'but two complete blocks are here illustrated as extending from the terminals A and B and from terminals'B to C. From the terminals A to B of the one block, I arrange a'paralleling conductor 5, connecting one endthereof to the terminal A and the other end thereof to the terminal B, the next succeeding block having a similar conductor 5 having one of its ends connecting the trolley wireat the terminal B andthe other end thereof to the terminal C, the remaining blocks (not shown) throughout the system being each provided with a similar wire 5 connecting at its terminals to the trolley-wire, Consti: tuting, practically, a paralleling secondary to the trolley-wire and connects thereto at its ends'and at spaced intervals.

In each block'is arranged a relay magnet 6, which is connected across the blockto the trolley conductor 2 and conductor 5 by a wire 7 said'trolley'conductor, the conductor 5 and wire 7 having the relay connected thereto, corresponding in principle to the well known WVheatstone bridge instrument.

In connecting the conducting wire 7WVltl1 the conductor 5, 'I prefer that there be included in the circuit of said conductor 5, of each block, a resistance 8 and that the terminal of the said wire 7 thereat be provided with a suitable movable contact 9 therefor capable of adjustment, then by means of varying the pointof which the said contact 9 engages with the resistance 8 the block may be so balancedthat no -matter how much current may be flowing along the trolley conductor the relay 6 will not be energized.

The relay of each block is employed to control a suitable independent signal by the opening and closing of signal operating circuit, the simple form for each block here shown as an illustration, comprising a circuit 10having a lamp 11 therein, one end of which circuit is connectedto the armature 12 of the relay and the other to a fixed contact B in the path of said armature.

In practice, if itbe assumed that the car 4 has just entered the block (as shown), then the drawing of the current in'the ordinary course down the trolley pole to and through the car'tothe track 3, from-the trolley conductor unbalances the system-in that block, causing the relay therein to be energized and attract its armature 12, which armature is then brought into engagement with the contact 13, closing the circuit 10 and causing the lamp 11 to be lighted and thereby indicate the presence of a car in that block. The signal circuit 10 remains closed and the signal lamp lighted in this block (as shown) until the car has passed into the next succeeding block, the passing of the car out of In Fig. 2, of the car equipment, I have shown a relay the magnet 14 thereof being connected in series with the wire 15 from the trolley pole 41 to the controller 16 and the armature 17 thereof connected by a branch arm 18 to said wire 15. A further branch connection 19 is taken from the circuit wire 20, of the usual connection to the wheel axle or other parts'of the car, and terminates in the fixed contact 21, said branch 19 having a suitable resistance 22 connected therein. From this circuit wire 20 is shown the usual branch connections 23 and 21 for the lamps 25 and air brake device 25, the latter branch being connected to the wire 15, and the branch 26 leading to the motor 27 and the controller 16.

Ordinarily the magnet 14 of the relay is energized and the armature 17 thereof attracted thereby, as shown, but should there at any time not be suflicient' current drawn from the trolley conductor to cause the systern of any block through which a car may be passing to become unbalanced, and thereby prevent the block relay- 6 to be energized, then the relay 14 will be denergized to such extent as to release its armature 17 and cause it to engage the contact 21, thus completing a circuit through the branch 19 and permitting suflicient current to pass through the block relay 6 as will energize the same and insure operating the signal. 7

In Fig. 3, I have shown a modified formof connecting the ends of the paralleling conductors 5 with the trolley conductor 2, by overlapping the connections, as shown, said overlapping of thesystem of each block causes the relay 6 in'thenext, succeeding block to respond; just before the trolley passes out of the preceding block.

I claim as -my -invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a railway signal system, a continuous trolley conductor connected with a source of electrical energy, a plurality of paralleling branch conductors each connected at both ends to said trolley conductor at spaced intervals forming blocks, a signal device for each block and a signal controlling circuit connected with the trolley conductor and with the branch conductor of each block.

2. In a railway signal system, a continuous trolley conductor connected with a source of electrical energy, a plurality of paralleling branch conductors connected at both ends to said trolleyconductor at spaced intervals forming blocks, a signal device for each block, and a signal controlling'device positively connected with the trolley conductor and branch conductor of each'block.

3. In a railway signal system, a continuous trolley conductor connected with a source of electrical energy, a plurality of paralleling branch conductors each connected at both ends to said trolley conductor at spaced intervals forming blocks, each of,

a signal. controlling device connected at one end to the trolley conductor and at the other end to the branch conductor of each block.

4. In a railway signal system, a continuous trolley conductor connected with a source of electrical energy, a plurality of paralleling branch conductors each 'connected at both ends to said trolley conductor at spaced intervals forming blocks, a signal device for each block, a signal controlling device connected with the trolley conductor and the branch conductor of each block, and means carried by the car to automaticallyincrease the current to and insure operating of the signal controlling device when the current otherwise is not sufficient.

5. In a railway signal system, a con tinuous trolley conductor connected with a source of electrical energy, a plurality of paralleling branch conductors each connected at both ends to said trolley conductor at spaced intervals forming blocks, a signalbranch conductor of each block where'the controlling device connects therewith having means to vary the resistance therein, and means carried by the car to automatically increase thecurrent to and insure operating of the signal controlling device when the current otherwise is not suflicient.

7 In a railway signal system the combisigned my name in the presence of tWo subnation With a continuous trolley conductor, scribing witnesses. a branch conductor connected thereto at both of its ends, and a signal operating cir- REED LEWIS 5 cuit connected across and to said trolley con- In the presence o;t'

doctor and branch conductor. LESTER S. PATTON,

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto WM. J. WYCOFF.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. O. 

